Hugo Awards Logo Contest Official Rules

Introduction

This document describes the official rules (“Official Rules”) of the Hugo Award Logo Design Contest organized by the World Science Fiction Society (“WSFS”), (the “Contest”). The object of this contest is to design a logo for the Hugo Awards, the oldest and most prestigious awards for science fiction. Information on how to enter and about the prizes is part of these Official Rules. To the extent of any inconsistency, these Official Rules prevail.

Definitions

“Entry” means a logo design created by the Entrant for this Contest.

“Entrant” means the individual that offers the Entry under the terms of this Contest.

Eligibility

The Contest is open only to individuals. The Contest is not open to companies, educational institutions, organizations, etc. or to groups associated with such institutions.

Members of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Hugo Award Marketing Committee (HAMC), the contest judges and their immediate family are not eligible to enter the Contest.

Entrants must be of sufficient legal age and standing to enter into a contract with WSFS as required below.

How to Enter

Initial entries must be submitted by email to logocontest@thehugoawards.org. The entries must be submitted as a scalable vector graphic in EPS format, and also as a JPG. See the Submission Guidelines below for further information.

The email must include the name, age, postal address, phone number and email address of the Entrant.

No more than 3 Entries may be submitted by any one Entrant.

Entries must conform to the Submission Guidelines set out below. Entries which fail to do so will be rejected.

The deadline for Entries is midnight (one minute after 2359) on May 31st, 2009, Pacific Daylight Time.

We will attempt to acknowledge all entries within one week of receipt; however, we cannot be responsible for entries or responses lost in e-mail.

There is no fee to enter the Contest.

Submission Guidelines

The purpose of the contest is to design a logo for the Hugo Awards. The logo will be used online, in print, on merchandise and to create “winner” stickers that can be placed on books, DVDs, etc. Flexibility is a key requirement, including the need to resize easily and to look good in black and white as well as color. The final version of the logo will need to be suitable for high quality printing.

While the logo needs to look good at relatively small sizes, it will not need to be shrunk for use as a Favicon.

Because of the requirement to register the logo as a Service Mark, Entrants should take care to ensure that their Entries are not in any way similar to existing logos or other copyrighted images. A logo that cannot be registered as a Service Mark, no matter how well crafted, cannot win the Contest.

The logo must contain the image of the four-finned Hugo Award rocket (which WSFS claims as a Service Mark). This image should not be photographic (see below for information on graphic formats), but must be recognizable as the Hugo Rocket. All Hugo Award bases are specific to individual Worldcons and should not be included in the logo design. A specification for the rocket trophy can be found at http://www.thehugoawards.org/content/pdf/RocketSpec%20lores.pdf. Images of the rocket in these designs do not need to follow these specifications exactly but must be recognizably similar.

The logo must also contain the words “Hugo Award”.

A variant of the logo using the same basic design but with the addition of the word “winner” is also required.

The logo must not contain any other text besides that required above.

Due to the requirements for high quality printing and re-sizing Entries must submitted in scalable vector graphic format (EPS). We advise against the use of halftones and gradients unless created inside a vector graphics program. Color in this version must be CMYK, no spot colors.

JPGs 1000 pixels square of the logo and “winner” variant are also requested so that entries can be posted to WSFS web sites without the need for conversion.

The limit on attachment sizes for our email is 10Mb 5Mb. If your submission exceeds this size, even after compression, please send the images individually and note clearly in your emails that you are doing so.

Note: our originally announced attachment limit was 10 Mb, but it appears our ISP was being optimistic, so we ask that submissions exceeding 5 Mb be split into separate files.

To recap, entry will consist of 4 files: the basic logo, and the “winner” variant, each in EPS and JPG format. We are able to handle most common file compression formats.

Prizes

Subject to the legal requirements outlined above, the winning design will be announced at the Hugo Award ceremony at the 2009 Worldcon (Anticipation) in Montreal in August 2009. Every effort will be made to inform the winner in time for him or her to attend, but WSFS is unable to pay for travel and accommodations.

The winning designer will receive:

A $500 cash prize.

A unique glass trophy with the winning design engraved upon it.

A complimentary membership to an upcoming Worldcon (the 2009 Worldcon in Montreal, to accept the prize, or the 2010 Worldcon in Melbourne or the 2011 Worldcon [location to be determined], at the choice of the winner).

Signed copies of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Coraline, and Fragile Things.

The right to use the basic logo and identify him/herself as the logo designer.

Judging and Selection of Winner

The winning design will be selected by judges appointed for the purpose and by the HAMC. Their decision will be final. No further correspondence shall be entered into.

WSFS reserves the right not to select a winner if, in its sole discretion, no suitable entries are received.

WSFS reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant or Entry at its sole discretion. No correspondence shall be entered into.

The winner will be required to sign a contract assigning all ownership of the logo to WSFS.

Accepting the prize constitutes permission for WSFS to make public and otherwise use winner’s name, and country of residence for publicity purposes. Further personal data may be requested but is not required.

No timetable is set for the announcement of a winner due to the need to confirm that the winning entry can be registered as a Service Mark.

Intellectual Property

All submitted work must be original and not based on any pre-existing design.

All Entries will become the sole property of WSFS and may be displayed publicly on WSFS web sites.

The winning entry will be registered by WSFS as a Service Mark and the Entrant agrees to transfer all right and title to the Entry to WSFS in accordance with the Official Rules of this Contest.

(Entrants should note that the term “Hugo Award” and the rocket image are already claimed by WSFS as service marks so re-use of unsuccessful entries would be difficult without infringing existing WSFS rights.)

Acceptance

Participation constitutes the Entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. By participating in the Contest, the Entrant is representing and warranting that he/she has read and understood, and agrees to be bound by, these rules. Including the guides and rules referred to herein, these Official Rules constitute the entire agreement between the Entrant and WSFS in relation to the Contest. They govern the Entrant’s participation and supersede any prior or other agreements between the Entrant and WSFS and relating to the Contest.

About WSFS

WSFS is an unincorporated literary society. It has no property of its own other than service marks. Individual Worldcons are mostly (but not always) run by non-profit corporations. WSFS custom requires a substantial proportion of any surplus made by an individual Worldcon to be passed on to its successors, and for the rest of any surplus to be spent in ways that promote science fiction and fantasy. While the loose nature of the organization precludes firm promises, it is our intention that no individual or corporation will profit from WSFS owning of the rights to the logo.

Our lawyers have asked us to include the following small print.

Representations and Warranties

By participating in the Contest, the Entrant warrants and represents in connection with the Entry submitted as part of his/her participation in the Contest: (a) he/she is the sole and exclusive owner of (and free of any adverse claim by any person, firm, or corporation) all intellectual property rights in and to the Entry; (b) the Entry is original and the use of the Entry as described in these Official Rules will not infringe the proprietary rights, including without limitation the intellectual property rights, of any third party; (c) the use of the Entry, as described in these Official Rules, will be in compliance with any third-party licenses pertaining to the Entry; (d) the Entry is not obscene or libelous, and does not violate any rights of any third party, including but not limited to rights of privacy or publicity; (e) the Entry does not contain any virus, spyware, malware, trap door, worm, or any other device, mechanism or code that is injurious or damaging to software or hardware used in conjunction with the Entry; (f) the Entry and its use as described in these Official Rules will not violate any federal, provincial, state or local laws or ordinances; (g) no employer or educational or other establishment has any rights in the Entry; (h) the Entry is consistent with these Official Rules; and (i) he/she has the right to grant the license to WSFS as required in these Official Rules.

Severability

When any provision of these Official Rules is found to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the parties nevertheless agree that the Court should endeavor to give effect to the intentions of the parties as reflected in the provision, and that the other provisions of these Official Rules remain in full force and effect.

Indemnity; Disclaimer of warranties; Limitation of Liability

By participating in the Contest, the Entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, including all eligibility requirements and all decisions of WSFS. By participating in the Contest, the Entrant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless WSFS and its officers, agents, affiliates, contractors, contributors, subsidiaries, licensors and distributors (“WSFS Entities”) from any and all liability, claims, or actions of any kind, including, without limitation, property damage, personal injury, and/or death, arising out of his/her (i) breach of any representation, warranty or covenant contained in these Official Rules; or (ii) participation in the Contest; (iii) acceptance and/or use or misuse of any prize in connection with the Contest; or (iv) any third party claim relating to any rights in any design submitted.

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, THE ENTRANT AGREES THAT WSFS ENTITIES MAKE NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION, OR GUARANTEE OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, IN FACT OR IN LAW, RELATING TO THE CONTEST AND/OR THE PRIZES.

By participating in the Contest, the Entrant agrees that WSFS is not responsible, and will in no event be held liable, for any: (a) lost, late, illegible, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, corrupted or garbled entries; (b) telephone, computer, or network malfunction or error; (c) communication disruption or other disruptions related to Internet traffic, virus, bug, worm, or non-authorized intervention; or (d) damage caused by a computer virus or otherwise resulting to any computer from the submission of entries. If such malfunction, error, disruption, or damage occurs or impairs the administration, security, fairness, or integrity of the Contest, WSFS may, in its sole discretion, suspend, modify or terminate the Contest by posting a notice at http://www.thehugoawards.org. If the Contest is terminated before the scheduled end of the Contest Period, WSFS will determine the winner from all eligible entries received as of the termination date. Persons found tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest, or whom WSFS believes to be causing or attempting or intending to cause any malfunction, error, disruption, or damage will be disqualified. WSFS reserves the right to disqualify any unauthorized entries, including, without limitation, multiple entries from the same person, or any entries made through robotic, automatic, mechanical, programmed or similar multiple-entry, or entry duplication, method and to disqualify any person or entity using such a method.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING HEREIN TO THE CONTRARY, AND ONLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY THE APPLICABLE LAW, BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, THE ENTRANT AGREES THAT IN NO EVENT WILL WSFS OR ANY WSFS ENTITY BE LIABLE TO ENTRANTS OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF THE BASIS OR NATURE OF THE CLAIM, RELATING IN ANY MANNER TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, THE CONTEST OR THE ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION THEREIN, EVEN IF WSFS OR A WSFS ENTITY WERE EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ALSO NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING HEREIN TO THE CONTRARY, BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, THE ENTRANT FURTHER AGREES THAT IN NO EVENT WILL THE LIABILITY OF WSFS OR ANY WSFS ENTITY RELATING IN ANY MANNER TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, THE CONTEST OR THE ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION THEREIN EXCEED THE GREATER OF US$1,000 OR ANY OTHER AMOUNTS PAID BY THE ENTRANT TO ENTER INTO THE CONTEST. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO THE ENTRANT. IN THE EVENT THAT THE PRECEDING RELEASE IS DETERMINED BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO BE INVALID OR VOID FOR ANY REASON, THE ENTRANT AGREES THAT, BY ENTERING THE CONTEST, (I) ANY AND ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS, AND CAUSES OR ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONTEST, OR ANY PRIZES AWARDED, SHALL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION; AND (II) ANY CLAIMS, JUDGEMENTS AND AWARDS SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED, INCLUDING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTERING THE CONTEST, BUT IN NO EVENT ATTORNEY’S FEES.

For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent that US law applies, nothing in these Official Rules shall limit or exclude either party’s liability for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or any other liability to the extent such liability cannot be excluded or limited as a matter of law.

Interpretation; Governing Law; Jurisdiction

Interpretation. In the case of any dispute about the interpretation of the Rules, WSFS’s decision as to the interpretation shall be final and Entrant shall be bound by WSFS’s decision.

Governing Law. The interpretation and enforcement of these Official Rules will be governed by the laws of the State of Massachusetts, USA, except to the extent required to be governed by the local law in the place of residence of an Entrant. The Contest is subject to all applicable, as the case may be, national, federal, provincial, state and local laws. The Entrant and WSFS agree to the extent permitted by law to submit all disputes arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the Contest to, and hereby waive any objection to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of, the state and federal courts located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Subject to Section 5 above, if necessary any provision of these Official Rules which is found to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be deemed to be struck out from these Official Rules.

Consideration

The Entrant agrees that the ability to participate in the Contest and to compete for the prizes offered in connection with the Contest constitute, where required, sufficient consideration for the Entrant’s obligations under these Official Rules.

Thank you for the update Kevin! The logo used through out the site has the rocket in black and white instead of grey and black like the winning logo post on the result page? Could it because the better contrast when placing it on the image background maybe.